topic Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but... in General Credit Topics

Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

jake619 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:43:59 GMT

myFICO maintains it is soft.

I ordered the Score Watch product and found an inquiry I wanted to dispute. Called the Equifax bureau number on the myFICO report, and the Agent (who spoke in a heavy foreign accent) told me to call the creditor directly and then before hanging up told me that there was an inquiry from today. He told me it was from myFICO. True, I did sign up for the program but why the Agent said it was a hard inquiry had me plexed.

I called myFICO and the Agent told me Equifax was wrong. When I told her that it's difficult to not believe the bureau themself she said to trust her and then she backed it up by directing me to the part in the inquiries page that explains no inquiries are displayed that are of zero consequence. That seems to be believable, too.

So, when you all review your full credit reports does myFICO appear in the soft or hard inquiry category?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

Shogun — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:44:03 GMT

Anytime a consumer checks their own CR it is a SP, or doesn't affect your credit.

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

brother7 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:53:20 GMT

Hmm...

I signed up for Scorewatch 11/15/2011. I pulled my second Scorewatch report 10/16/2012.

I pulled my EQ report from annualcreditreport.com on 10/22/2012. The Inquiries section of the EQ report reads like this:

EQUIFAX 10/22/2012

FAIR ISAAC 10/16/2012, 11/15/11

ND-FAIR ISAAC 11/15/11

EQUIFAX or EFX Inquiries with these prefixes indicate Equifax's activity in response to your contact with us for a copy of your credit file or a research request.

ND Inquiries with this prefix are general inquiries that do not display to credit grantors. (ND inquiries remain for 24 months.)

Now I'm confused. It looks like myFICO did a soft AND hard pull when I initially signed up for Scorewatch, then did a hard pull when I got the second report. That doesn't sound quite right. Can someone explain?

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

jake619 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:29:02 GMT

See? That's why I'm so curious. I know it's supposed to be soft but it's peculiar to me the bureau says otherwise. myFICO isn't extending credit so soft makes sense. I guess we need more proof from those that have the service and have reports run some time after the pull.

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

llecs — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:37:24 GMT

@brother7 wrote:
Hmm...

I signed up for Scorewatch 11/15/2011. I pulled my second Scorewatch report 10/16/2012.

I pulled my EQ report from annualcreditreport.com on 10/22/2012. The Inquiries section of the EQ report reads like this:

EQUIFAX 10/22/2012
FAIR ISAAC 10/16/2012, 11/15/11
ND-FAIR ISAAC 11/15/11

EQUIFAX or EFX Inquiries with these prefixes indicate Equifax's activity in response to your contact with us for a copy of your credit file or a research request.
ND Inquiries with this prefix are general inquiries that do not display to credit grantors. (ND inquiries remain for 24 months.)

Now I'm confused. It looks like myFICO did a soft AND hard pull when I initially signed up for Scorewatch, then did a hard pull when I got the second report. That doesn't sound quite right. Can someone explain?

Your above comes from the soft inquiries section of your full EQ report. These are softs and not hard inquiries. It's normal.

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

brother7 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:28:39 GMT

@llecs wrote:

Your above comes from the soft inquiries section of your full EQ report. These are softs and not hard inquiries. It's normal.

You are CORRECT!

Since I didn't have any hard inquiries during the prior 2-year period, I only had 1 section of Inquiries listed with the sub-heading "Inquiries that do not impact your credit rating". Thus, all the inquiries I posted previously were soft. I stand corrected, and happily so

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

beb86 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:47:22 GMT

Yeah it is sometimes confusing on the EQ website

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

jake619 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 03:50:55 GMT

OK thanks. I guess the EQ Agent was uninformed. While he says the myFICO hit today was hard I guess he was wrong. I'll pull my report next quarter and see what's on it. Thanks all!

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

Epcot — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:58:20 GMT

Is the only place to see who is soft pulling us, a report through the credit bureau directly?

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

TNTransplant — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:52:42 GMT

@Epcot wrote:
Is the only place to see who is soft pulling us, a report through the credit bureau directly?

Yes.

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

RobertEG — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:07:37 GMT

The true test of a so-called hard inquiry is whether others can see it, not the consumer.

If you obtain access to a credit report pulled by a creditor, for example, it should not show.

The same applies when a CRA generates a score using the FICO algorithm. Those coded so that others dont see them are also excluded from scoring in the FICO algorithm.

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

llecs — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:17:38 GMT

@jake619 wrote:
OK thanks. I guess the EQ Agent was uninformed. While he says the myFICO hit today was hard I guess he was wrong. I'll pull my report next quarter and see what's on it. Thanks all!

If you look in here you'll find MANY posts talking about uninformed EQ CSR-types. It's amazing the amount of disinformation that comes from them. There are a few posts in here from EQ agents saying that they scores they offer are FICO scores, when in fact the scores they push are FAKOs. Or even a couple posts in here saying that the agent told them that myFICO does not offer FICO scores. Anything to sell you on something I guess.

Re: Equifax says myFICO is a hard inquiry but...

jake619 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:33:30 GMT

@llecs wrote:

If you look in here you'll find MANY posts talking about uninformed EQ CSR-types. It's amazing the amount of disinformation that comes from them. There are a few posts in here from EQ agents saying that they scores they offer are FICO scores, when in fact the scores they push are FAKOs. Or even a couple posts in here saying that the agent told them that myFICO does not offer FICO scores. Anything to sell you on something I guess.

It's pretty frustrating that the single piece of information that has such a strangle-hold on our lives is so amiguous. It's like taxes - have your return prepared by three different preparers and you owe or overpaid by three different amounts? How exactly is that? If we are to get a grip on our personal activities and understand how those activities affect our credit info there should really be a better, more easily understood process explained to us - the credit holders. This system leaves too much to chance.

</rant>